With Mike Tyson's 10-dollar Georgia boxing licence safely secured, the war of words has once again begun ahead of his proposed summer showdown with Lennox Lewis.

Thankfully, given the outcome of last month's infamous New York press conference, the two heavyweight superstars have so far stuck to trading insults via media statements.

Lewis, buoyed by his #5.6million courtroom win over former promoter Panos Eliades, fired the opening salvo.

He declared: "Now that Mr Tyson has been licensed, I look forward to meeting him in the ring in June.

"However, I want to again make clear, as I have already told the Tyson camp, that Mike Tyson must get some psychiatric help before we go forward in June.

"I very much want to give Mike Tyson the whipping he deserves, but above all I want the fight to be a true sporting event, where the sweet science of boxing is on display."

Predictably, Tyson's reaction was not to instantly make provisions for a course of counselling to curb his aggressive tendencies.

He replied: "I hope Lennox is training as hard as he is talking. Obviously not, since every day it is something new out of his pretty mouth.

"The facts are very simple, Lennox and I will fight and I will win in spectacular fashion."

The issue of where and when the richest fight in history will take place has still to be resolved of course.

Atlanta's Georgia Dome on June 8 is the obvious favourite, although the state's boxing commission has come under pressure from politicians to review their decision to sanction Tyson's licence.

The Staples Center in Los Angeles is still a possibility and California officials will meet next week to discuss another application from 'Iron Mike'.

But the Houston Astrodome is no longer an option after the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation turned down Tyson's bid to box in their state.

Executive Director Bill Kuntz said: "I made my decision to deny Mr Tyson a licence based on his past behaviour in the ring, his unwillingness to follow the basic rules and laws of boxing, and our mandate to regulate boxing in the public interest.

"In the boxing ring, Mike Tyson is a repeat offender. I have no confidence that his future behaviour would differ from his past behaviour."